What could be better than putting an ogre from the Old Continent to sleep to consolidate its new European status? La Rochelle tested this formula this Sunday in Marcel-Deflandre, on the occasion of its first game against Saracens, three-time winners of the competition, but passed through the English second division in 2021. The defending champions won a fourteenth victory consecutive Champions Cup to reach the last four.
The Maritimes will face Exeter, scorer of the Stormers (42-17), in the quarterfinals. The construction of the table makes it possible to dream of a remake of the European Cup final in 2021. Provided that La Rochelle and Stade Toulouse, opposed to Leinster in the semi-finals, fulfill their part of the contract. The two French clubs won in advantageous proportions this weekend, without resorting to the same methods.
Teddy Thomas had to score a last-minute try against Gloucester (29-26) to qualify Ronan O’Gara’s men in the quarter-finals. This Sunday, the defense and solidarity of the Maritimes in their 22 meters limited the English to 10 points. Tawera Kerr-Barlow’s second try widened the gap on the hour mark (21-3) but, if the Rochelais raced in the lead, they were less serene during the last quarter of an hour.
“Intractable”
The Sarries sniffed the French goal line very closely after Eroni Mawi’s converted try (21-10, 66th). Brice Dulin abandoned his partners in the 73rd for a high tackle. But Woolstencroft also received a yellow, rebalancing the balance of power and planing the hopes of Sarries. “We made a lot of effort, we were intractable, launched Levani Botia at the microphone of France 2. The most important thing when we play at home is the form of the collective. The work is not finished yet, we still have a lot to do to defend our title. »
The Maritimes had optimized their first period. The Sarries struggled to conclude their breakthrough and their indiscipline provided many cartridges for Antoine Hastoy. The 25-year-old flyhalf scored three of his four successful penalties in the opening act, where Owen Farrell scored just one for England. Tawera Kerr-Barlow took advantage of superb relays from the La Rochelle forwards to slip away on trial (34th) to embellish these first 40 minutes, which ended with a 13-point lead.
Finally, the gap only widened by one point in the second half. Enough to make Gregory Alldritt happy. “We don’t trivialize these matches, we always have so much fun. When you have a day like that, the sun, the public, it’s incredible, smiled the captain on France 2. Something is being created. We digested what we did last year. New players bring us a lot of desire and want to know that too. »